| The Tools you will need |
| So we will cover a lot of material, Now Please take note: Electronic Tools are not cheap, so buy the best and they will last you a LONG time! So don't ever use them on your auto!! |
 The first tool you will need is a great soldering system. First what not to buy.Also or if it has a ceramic  element. These irons should be tossed in the bin. Why they will not "recover" soon enough and you joint will be cold.This is my soldering Iron its a metcal. This can be picked up on eBay, etc. for less than $200. Now you can get stuff much cheaper and get away with it. But the handpiece only gets a little warm.  It is comprised of three or four if you count the stand.1. The power unit. This is an RF generator. 2. The wand, or handpiece which connects the power unit to the tip (and there are tons to pick from). 3. The tip which is a load for the RF generator, and gets very hot quickly. Hence it has great "recovery". Now its time to talk about solders.There are lots of them, Acid core (plumbing only!) Rosen core, Lead/Tin that what we use in the states, or you can use Lead Free, which is a pain to use. And lastly Silver solder good for making jewelry and some electronics but it takes lots of heat!
. It comes in all sort of shapes, wire, bar, pellets. One word of caution. Never use a soldering tip that was used Lead/Tim and then use Lead Free, now you tip is contaminated and you might as well toss it. that goes for solder pots too, but more about them later. For general purpose I like Kester SN60, Core: 66, Flux, 282, and Dia is only .025" which is very small but you have more control. Now lets talk about wire, there are all types, and all types of insulating. Also wire comes in solid which you will never use! And stranded and that's for us. So now we know we are only going to use stranded wire lets talk about how its covered.1. Polyvinyl Chlroride or PVC, -55°C to +105°C so when you are soldering it can melt! Very cheap, 2. Nylon, very tough jacket It exhibits strong abrasion, cut-through, and chemical resistance. This is also know as THHN which you can get any place. 3. Styrene-Butadiene Rubber or SBR -55°C to +90°C mostly used on Mil-C-55668 cables. 4. Teflon or PTFE covered wire, This is used in commonly in aircraft, and you will need a Thermal Stripper to use it. 5. KYNAR or PVDF this stuff is used in Medical, Aerospace, and also on WireWrap® so you might never see this stuff. I have a few miles of it. |
| Much more on page #2 |